All Blacks Sevens coach Gordon Tietjens said he was very pleased with the calibre of players who have committed to the All Blacks Sevens over the next year.

“This is a very strong squad with a core group of players who have performed consistently well for the team, particularly in the past season, together with some exciting young talent who will help build depth as we move towards the Olympics in 2016.

“The really good news is that we now have eight specialist sevens players. This is all part of our plan to build a group of players who can devote themselves to sevens and so play their part in helping us win gold at Rio in 2016.”

The newcomers are former New Zealand Under 20 player and Southland back Marty McKenzie and Wellington speedster Ambrose Curtis who made his debut at the Gold Coast Sevens. Young Waikato players Declan O’Donnell and Joe Webber also return to the squad having last played in 2011 and 2012 respectively.

Four additional players will be contracted by early next year as part of the All Blacks Sevens Wider Training Group.

The All Blacks Sevens next play at the Dubai Sevens 29-30 November which is the second tournament in the 2013/14 HSBC Sevens World Series. The All Blacks Sevens currently lead the series having won the opening tournament of the series, the Gold Coast Sevens last month.